


His Own Name

by AugustStories



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Boy-Who-Lived Neville Longbottom, James Potter Lives, Lily Evans Potter Lives, Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Neville Longbottom Needs a Hug, The Marauders are a band
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:34:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28339293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AugustStories/pseuds/AugustStories
Summary: Harry Potter was the son of James Potter, the lead singer of the Marauders, and nothing more. As he heads off now to start his first year at Hogwarts, he finds comfort in his parents as he is confronted with a boy whose name is known by everyone.
Relationships: Harry Potter & James Potter, Harry Potter & Lily Evans Potter, Harry Potter & Ron Weasley, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black & Harry Potter
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	His Own Name

**Author's Note:**

  * For [abadgerinthebluebox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/abadgerinthebluebox/gifts).



The first time Harry Potter laid eyes upon Neville Longbottom's shy face on platform 3/4, he immediately felt sorry for him as everyone stopped and stared. The Boy Who Lived. The boy who had defeated the Dark Lord as a baby, lost his parents for it and grown up under the eyes of the entire magical world, it wasn't something Harry ever wanted to imagine. It must have been terrible, and hence it was no surprise that the boy looked absolutely frightened as his grandmother shushed him along the platform to a further down cabin.

"The kid looks awful," his uncle commented and Harry quickly hid a grin behind his sleeve when his Mum slapped the back of Uncle Sirius' head.

"Of course the kid looks awful," Harry's Mum hissed at him and straightened out her jacket again, "everybody will think they knew him when in truth no one knows anything about that poor boy. I hope he gets to find good friends in Hogwarts, not people who will try to take advantage of him." She sent Harry a look that he could translate without any help, he would better look out for the same as well.

"He's not off limits for me, right?" He nevertheless felt inclined to ask and then felt a hand come to tip back his head so he could meet his father's raised eyebrow.

"Off limits?" His Dad repeated part of the question back at Harry in absolute confusion and Harry shrugged. "Of course he's not off limits. You're a Potter, the only people off limits are wearing green..."

"James!"

Harry grinned once more into his sleeve when his Mum's voice hissed at his father and people looked around at them.

"You will not put that into his head again! Harry can be friends with whomever he wants!"

"As long as they classify as cool."

"Sirius!"

Harry chuckled and turned to observe the other children once more, knowing his father securely at his back. The thing about being a Potter was that you drew eyes as well, hardly impossible when your father was the front man of the currently most popular rock band in the wizarding world. But, and that was what distinguished him from Neville Longbottom, people looked at his Dad, they looked at his uncles and swooned and did other crazy stuff.

And sometimes they briefly glanced at Harry or his Mum as well and smiled because they envisioned a crazy life full of non stop adventure and excitement. They didn't see Harry and talked about him, to them he was James Potter's son. He was Charlus Potter's grandson who had led the Auror Department in the second wizarding war. He was Sirius Black's godson who was the most popular member of the Marauders.

People saw famous stars and their families and made assumptions.

When in truth, Harry had been born and had grown up in a tiny village in England in a comfortable home with his parents and grandparents. His father toured the world with his best friends but Harry's Mum had only rarely decided to go along, let alone decided to take Harry along as well. His father lived a life of screaming fans and parties and beauiful foreign places while Harry won against his grandfather in chess, baked cookies with his grandmother and helped his Mum with her potions brewing.

He had had a completely normal childhood, except for those few occasions where his Dad had convinced his Mum to bring the family along to one of his concerts. There his Dad was a rockstar, he was this charming singer who could touch hundreds of people with his songs, at home his Dad was an idiot who constantly forgot where he put his glasses and his wand. The difference had been dizzying as a child but as Harry had grown older he had realized that there was only one true side to his Dad and his uncles, the one he got to see at home.

Everything else was a smile put on for strangers.

The train whistled once to announce the last minutes and Harry smiled when his father turned to Harry's Mum and his best friend. "Give us a moment?" He asked of them and Harry grinned when his Mum smiled in complete understanding and his uncle smiled in fondness, grabbing Harry's trunk to get it up on the train already. His Dad turned him around and knelt down so Harry wouldn't have to crane his neck up to look him in the eyes. "Alright, champion."

"Dad, I'm gonna be okay."

"I know," his father said with a smile and tapped his head, "you've got your mother's head and my spirits, you'll be completely fine at Hogwarts. I'm doing this for myself, Harry, to I'll feel better. Tomorrow when I'm heading off with Sirius to meet up with Remus and Peter again, it'll be the first time without knowing you safe and sound at home, and your Pops told me that this isn't just a change for you, it'll be a change for us as well. So let me give you some advice, even if you heard all of this already. Have fun but also work hard, even I didn't fly through school without reading a book once in a while, regardless of what your uncle Sirius tells you."

"I know, Dad, I'm gonna give it my best."

"And I don't want anything more from you," his father emphasized and squeezed Harry's shoulders, "bad grades happen, it's not the end of the world. Find friends, don't make enemies within the first week. Don't do something stupid unless your friends have your back. And if you need anything, write home. I already promised you that I'll always write to you when I'm leaving the country but your Mum, your Pops and your Grammy will always be within owling distance. And if you ever need me, son, you write your Mum and she'll reached out to me and I will drop everything and return. You're more important than any fans could ever be."

"I know, Dad. I'm gonna miss you." Harry confessed quietly because he didn't want to have anyone overhear it and his father pulled him into a tight long hug.

"I'm gonna miss you, too, Harry."

And then his Mum came back over and announced that they needed to get Harry onto the train. He hurried over and let Sirius hug him briefly still and then swing him up into the train that was whistling again. He waved at his parents and his uncle with a happy grin, he would miss them but he was also so excited for Hogwarts now.

\--

As the train left the station, Harry pulled his trolley and the cage with Hedwig along to the cabin Ron and him had picked earlier upon meeting up. The Weasleys had left again rather quickly, Harry supposed that after a few kids all of this hassle would become routine, so Ron had offered up to find a compartment for them. Now, Harry closed the door with a sigh and then let Ron help him heave the trolley up onto the shelf above the seats.

Harry had known Ron and all the Weasleys basically all his life, he couldn't remember a time without the redheads coming over to play. How it had come to be was something not talked about in his home, he only knew that it had something to do with his Pops' and his Mum's past and their actions in the war. His Mum didn't like talking about it and his Pops always promised to explain it to Harry one day, when he was older.

It hadn't ever mattered to either of them.

"You okay?" Ron asked when Harry dropped down across from him and gave Hedwig a treat for having been so quiet all this time. "I know you've said you have practice with saying goodbye for a while but you've never been the one who left."

"I'm good," Harry assured him and smiled, feeling like it, too, "I'm not heading into something unknown. Or alone. Right now I only want to think about what's ahead. You still want Gryffindor above all else, right?"

"Yes," Rob answered with a grin that Harry echoed, "don't wanna stick out from the rest of us. Did you uncle make any more comments about not daring to choose anything else?"

"Yeah," Harry laughed and got more comfortable, his uncle Sirius' displeasure with Slytherin was widely known and Uncle Remus loved to drive him up the wall with dressing in green all the time. Harry thought though that Sirius wouldn't start hating him if the Hat ended up choosing Slytherin for Harry.

He might fall over but he would still love Harry. Sirius had made up with his little brother after a long time after all, and as far as Harry knew his brother had been a Death Eater deserter.

They quickly jumped into a conversation over the latest Quidditch results, Ron told him about visiting his brother in Egypt and Harry talked about visiting The Marauders in Lisbon for a week as they had played several concerts there. They were in the middle of arguing over who would take the top bunk later when it knocked on their compartment door and they both whirled around, blinking at the face looking at them out of terrified eyes.

"Do you..." the boy stuttered out and it wasn't just any boy. It was Neville Longbottom. The Boy Who Lived, trembling so much in fear that Harry was afraid he might drop his toad at any second. "Do you still have a free seat?" Harry exchanged a look with Ron and found all of his thoughts mirrored back in his best friend's eyes. They looped to their feet together, took Neville's trolley and swung it up onto the railing, then Harry pulled Neville to sit down next to him and Ron closed the door again. Neville looked close to tears in gratitude.

"What's your name?" Harry asked then and Neville stared at him in complete confusion, even Hedwig cocked her head to the side as if wondering if her master had lost it but Harry knew what he was doing. They knew his name, they didn't know him. Ron was patiently waiting, content as so often that Harry took the lead.

"You don't know who I am?" Neville wanted to know, fear vanished in light of complete puzzlement and Harry congratulated himself on success.

Confusion can melt away the strongest overwhelmed emotions, his Uncle Remus had told him that in advice at the beginning of the summer.

"I know what people call you," Harry explained and shrugged, "I know what you did as a baby but I don't know who you are. Here, let me start. My name is Harry Potter. I'm James Potter's son, the guy from The Marauders. But I'm also just Harry, excited to start at Hogwarts and wanting to become a Gryffindor." Neville hesitantly took the offered up hand.

"I'm Ron, Ron Weasley," Ron also jumped in, apparently haven't gotten Harry's clue, "it's nice to meet you. Want some lemon drops?"

"Sure," Neville nodded and blinked between them for a moment as Ron began to search for his lemon drops and Harry leaned back against the window. "And I'm Neville. Just Neville."

"Alright, just Neville," Harry joked and could have cheered when the ghost of a smile crept upon Neville's lips. "Hogwarts will be great, you'll see. Stick to us, we know what to expect. He's got older brothers already at school," Harry mentioned and nodded to Ron still searching for candy, "and I got a Dad and three uncles who never truly stopped being children."

Ron drew Neville into a conversation about Quidditch then, probably the safest field for the beginning and Harry watched London disappearing and making place for rolling hills. Making friends, it turned out, was definitely easy and he also reminded himself that his Dad had found his best friends on the train ride already, too, and those four were still close to this day.

Hogwarts, he was ready.

\--

**'Dear Mum,**

**Hogwarts is everything you promised and so much more and I already know that I'll have the best time here. Tell Dad and Uncle Sirius that I have in fact become a Gryffindor, which like you said, no surprise. The Hat proposed Slytherin, too, but I think I'll be happier in Gryffindor. Ron became one, too, as did Neville Longbottom whom we befriended on the train. He's real quiet. I think he will need someone to protect him from the other kids because they just stare at him, they don't see how scared he is. Everyone knows his name but no one knows who he is, just like with me because of Dad. But they look at me differently. They know my name but most hardly care.**

**Snape smiled at me when he saw me waiting in line for the Hat, so you don't need to worry about that. I smiled back, looking forward to my first potion lesson, I'm eager to show off what you taught me. I wrote Pops, too, already, to tell him that I'm really excited for Defense Against the Dark Arts, he taught me so much. One of the older boys here already asked me if I'm that Potter and when I told him that yes, the one from the band is my Dad, he shook his head and mentioned Pops, so I got to tell him that the Head of the Magical Defense Department is my Grandpa. Pops is gonna love that.**

**I miss you, and I miss Grammy but I'll be okay. I've got the Weasleys, I've got Neville and the other boys from my dorm. Just like Dad and you said, we'll hold onto another. And who knows what the next days will bring. You didn't find your best friends in Gryffindor, maybe Ron and I can keep our eyes open, too.**

**Oh and tell Dad and Uncle Sirius that most of the boys here find them totally uncool and that Uncle Remus is so much more epic in their eyes. Front singers and bass players are not the hype, it's the guitarists who are all the rage apparently at the moment. Make sure to tell Uncle Remus that, too, I fear he won't believe my letter, it'll put a smile on his face.**

**Love you, Mum. Stop worrying. I'm good.**

**Your Harry'**


End file.
